Tag: financial

Categories
Debt Financial

Where Can I Find The Best Debt Consolidation Company?

get debt relief

In these tough economic times many Americans are faced with significant credit card debt and are looking for help reducing their monthly payments. Debt consolidation allows you to combine numerous debt obligations into one and streamlines the repayment process for credit cards, loans, and other bills. Debt consolidation usually includes lower monthly payments and a repayment plan that saves money and resolves debt faster than you could on your own.

It can be hard to decide on what debt consolidation company or website to use. We have done the research and we are providing you with our top picks for debt consolidation and loan options.

3 Major Benefits of Debt Consolidation

1. Track debt repayment
Once you consolidate your debts, regardless of which method you use, you will have one bill to pay. This can help you stay on top of your finances and set an attainable goal for your debt repayment plan.

2. Save money on interest
Ideally, you will use a financial product with a lower interest rate and fewer fees than what is charged on your current debts. This reduction in interest will help you save money you’d have been required to pay had you not consolidated.

3. Build your credit score
Paying off credit card debt with a loan can have an immediate effect on your credit score by lowering your credit utilization ratio. This is the total amount of credit available to you versus the amount of credit card debt you have.

Categories
Career & Education Education Financial Loans

Will This Type of Student Loan Forgiveness Be Next?

Could This Type of Student Loan Forgiveness Be Next?

A group of over one hundred organizations representing student loan borrowers recently wrote an open letter calling on the Education Department to overhaul its income-driven repayment program. The goal of an income-driven repayment plan is to make payments more affordable and give borrowing who have already been paying for 20 to 25 years a way out. However, these plans are so poorly designed that only 32 people have qualified for forgiveness as of the beginning of 2021.

According to the National Consumer Law Center, a consumer advocacy group, the government made a promise to borrowers that federal student loan payments would be affordable and would not be a lifetime burden. Unfortunately, the Education Department’s income-driven repayment program has “failed to deliver on every aspect of that promise.”

What is an income-driven repayment plan?

An income-driven repayment plan sets your monthly student loan payment to an affordable amount based on your income and family size. There are several different income-driven repayment plans, but they all generally require borrowers to pay between 10 and 20% of their discretionary income for 20 or 25 years.

What are the downsides to this type of student loan?

Although income-driven repayment plans exist to help low-income borrowers, they come with several downsides as well.

You might not qualify

Most private student loans don’t offer income-driven repayment plans, so you will likely only qualify if you’re a federal student loan borrower. The qualifications can be confusing though: Federal Parent PLUS loans are not directly eligible for this type of repayment plan but may become eligible by including the loans in a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan.

Your loan balance might increase

It’s also possible for student loans to be negatively amortized under this type of repayment plan, which means the loan payments you are making are less than the interest that accrues each month. This results in a higher loan balance which can feel like you’re making zero progress when paying down your debt.

Married borrowers might have a higher payment

Some income-driven repayment plan payments may increase if the borrower gets married and their spouse has a job. This is typically seen as a marriage penalty and can result in a much higher payment than you’re used to due to your joint income.

Student Loan Forgiveness takes a long time

If you’re seeking forgiveness of your student loan debt, you won’t see it until after 20 or 25 years of payment on an income-driven repayment plan. This can feel like you’re in debt forever since you’ll owe money for longer than the standard repayment plan and will end up paying more interest in the long run.

What’s next for student loans?

Advocates are calling for massive reform to the income-driven repayment program since the current program is too complicated, requires too much paperwork, and is poorly managed by the loan servicing companies that run them. Only about 34% of borrowers manage to recertify every year, which is a dismal amount considering these repayment plans are supposed to be helpful.

Categories
Career & Education Education Financial Government Grants

What Is A Pell Grant? How to Get Your $6,495.

What Is A Pell Grant? How to Get Your $6,495.

The Federal Pell Grant program is the largest student aid program in the U.S. It provides grant money to the country’s neediest students to help them attend college. It also does not need to be repaid. With tuition constantly increasing, many students aren’t sure how to pay for college, but the Pell Grant can help alleviate those concerns.

If you qualify for a Pell Grant, you can receive up to $6495 to put towards your college education. Qualification is based on financial need. It also includes factors like your family’s assets, your college’s cost of attendance, and how many children in your family are attending college.

What are the requirements?

Before you can apply for a Pell Grant, there are a few basic requirements you must meet. You must:

  • Be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen, such as a permanent resident
  • Hold a high school diploma, GED, or approved home-school certification
  • Have a valid Social Security Number
  • Be registered with Selective Service if you’re a male between 18 and 25
  • Be accepted to an eligible certificate or degree program

Federal Pell Grants are typically awarded to undergraduate students working toward their first college degree, but students in select post-graduate teaching programs may be eligible as well.

How do you apply?

Your first step toward seeing if you qualify for one is to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. You’ll need to fill out your FAFSA every year to determine your continued Pell Grant eligibility, so make sure to fill it out as soon as you are able to.

How much student aid can you get?

The maximum award for a Pell Grant is $6495 per school year, but you may not receive the full amount. The Federal Pell Grant is not an all-or-nothing program, and you can receive anywhere up to the maximum award amount depending on how much you qualify for.

You can only receive one Pell Grant per year, and Federal law limits you to receiving six years of Pell Grant funding. This means that you can receive up to the full reward amount every year for a total of six years.

What can this money pay for?

Aid from a Pell Grant can be used to pay for qualified educational expenses. These include:

  • Your college tuition
  • College-related fees like health centers, computer labs, etc.
  • College textbooks and supplies such as paper, binders, safety glasses, etc.
  • On-campus room and board or off-campus living expenses
  • Costs for daycare or other dependent-care expenses

When will you receive your money?

Once your FAFSA has been processed, you’ll receive your financial aid award letters and can start to compare offers. Federal Pell Grants, if you qualify, are paid out through colleges, so your school will let you know when and how you’ll be paid. Some schools apply the money directly to your tuition, some cut you a check, and others do a little of both.

Categories
Financial Government Grants

6 Steps To Apply For Medical Assistance Grants

6 Steps to Apply for Medical Assistance Grants

Apply for medical assistance grants.  Step by step tips, tricks, and strategies for approved grant applications.

There are many grant opportunities available.  Although, grant applications are highly competitive, most of the opportunities to receive medical assistance grant funding are right at your fingertips on the worldwide web. Here are some grant funding tips that you should consider in your search:

Plan and be alert.

Keep in mind grant organizations go through levels of analysis. The first level is to throw out as many proposals as possible.  Why? Because there is usually only one winner per grant, making the pre-selection stage a process of elimination.  Every medical assistance grant proposal does not make it to the end, and these organizations can receive thousands of applications. So carefully plan for your proposal, or your grant can be thrown out even for simple mistakes.

Find the right opportunity and ensure your eligibility.

Don’t do all that work for nothing. If you have not done your eligibility research beforehand, your grant proposal will likely be sent back to you. This is why ensuring you meet the requirements is an extremely important step in your search for Medical Assistance Grants. View Sponsored Listings.

Read the directions carefully and apply for the grant.

Follow the very specific grant application directions closely, as medical grant directions must be followed precisely to be considered for acceptance. Every grant type has its own set of special directions, so be sure to abide by those listed as you apply. Either keep the directions open in another window, or print them off to ensure you don’t miss anything.

Study other grant proposals that have won and been approved.

Locate this public information by searching for sample grant applications online. There are many great resources for Medical Assistance grants, and all you have to do is track them down online and study the writing approach of other winners in the field. Start by searching for “grant application samples” and then refine your search based on the results.

Don’t sweat the minor details.

If you do not have a particular requirement that the grant is asking for (e.g. you have 5 sq. ft. and the grant wants 10 sq. ft.) apply for it anyway. The reason for this is because one quarter of the people applying for the same grant probably do not have all the requirements either.  Nevertheless, they quickly find the needed support once the grant is approved.  This is especially true for bigger money grants.  If you do not have exactly what the grant asks for, don’t worry. You won’t necessarily be disqualified.

Find local support.

Go to your local organizations, including city and state entities, and let them know what your situation is. Often times they have access to databases, foundations, etc. that you won’t find in a normal Google search. They are there to help people in your shoes, so don’t be afraid to ask for help. That is what they do!

Types of Medial Assistance Grants

  1. Research
  2. Small Grant
  3. Scientific
  4. Academic Enhancement
  5. Exploratory and Developmental
  6. Clinical
  7. Small Business
  8. Education
  9. Philanthropic

Of the many medical assistance grant opportunities available there are some factors to process.  Here we have provided the 6 Major Steps to Apply for Medical Assistance Grants.  Apply for your medical grant with these step by step tips, tricks, and strategies and get your first approved grant application.

Categories
Financial Government Grants

How to Write Grant Proposals

How to Write Grant Proposals

You can waste a lot of time trying to figure how to write a grant proposal. Finding the right grant is difficult in itself and when you do get it, completing the rest of the documentation process can be a difficult challenge. Whether you want a grant for an organization or a business – writing the proposals can be an easy thing to learn if you have the proper guidelines. Read on to get a better idea of the process involved in writing a grant proposal.

Getting Started

Once you have written down the list of all the activities, needs, and outcome of your program, you can use it as a basis for several applications, as the majority are in a similar format. You can also make minor tweaks to meet the needs of each funder. Start by studying other proposals and looking at all the different formats of major companies and organizations. Funders usually have specific format styles which include the font, text size and even page limits. So initiate your writing process by thoroughly reading the specific instructions of writing a proposal given to you by your funder. For example, if the funder wants 10 pages, make sure you give him exactly 10 pages. If you think you need an exception – get permission beforehand, if possible.

Developing Your Proposal

Next, you should study all the criteria. Grant programs are highly competitive. They are awarded to the proposal that best fits the criteria. Usually, the grant officer allocates points to different sections of the proposal. Try to use a checklist and ensure that you have everything in order before finalizing your proposal. This will also help ensure that you have not missed out on any section and that your application is complete. Also, make sure you add a table of contents to help the reviewers find the specific information they need, easily.

Finally, you must absolutely perfect those areas with the highest weightage. These areas are going to be the deal makers and don’t compromise on quality. If you find all this to be difficult, you can even hire a professional grant writer who is experienced in writing all sorts of proposals. Such professionals usually know what pleases the funder and are familiar with tactics which increase the chances of getting the proposal accepted. However, make sure to fill him or her in on all the nitty gritty details of you plan and project needs. Otherwise, your proposal might not reflect what you actually plan on doing.

Finalizing Your Proposal

Finally, once you’re done – review the whole document thoroughly. Consider having someone who has never heard about your proposal review the document and get their critique. They may also be able to detect shortcomings and errors in your document that you’ve overlooked. Edit and proofread all the text and make sure it’s aligned with the instructions of your funder. Once you are done with writing the grant you need to submit it on time or by the due date. Show your efficiency as much as possible in order to gain an upper hand over your competitors. We hope these tips and effective strategies will assist in your goal of writing a winning grant proposal, and we wish you the best of luck in securing your grant!

Categories
Financial Government Grants

How to Avoid A Grant Scam Online

How to Avoid A Grant Scam Online

What Is A Grant Scam?

A grant scam is an incidence of attempted online theft or identity theft.

Someone contacts you to say that you are eligible for a government grant. They ask you to give your personal details of checking account information over to that person so that you can receive the grant. However, this is not what will happen – instead, you will be scammed.

Grant scams can take a number of forms. By far the most common start when you receive an email stating that you’re eligible for a grant, usually due to an error on your tax return or something similar. You’ll then be prompted to send your details across to what you might believe is a legitimate institution. A number of these scammers use fake names such as “The Federal Grants Authority,” so be sure to research any institution that is asking for your information.

However, these aren’t the only form of grant scam. You might be searching for information related to your taxes and come across a website with fake information. You might even receive a phone call from someone claiming to be able to offer you a grant. Do not fall for this. We’ll supply the process below so you can understand what really happens with government grants.

Why Would Anyone Do This?

As a law-abiding citizen, it’s hard to understand why someone would do something like a grant scam. If you’re not overly technologically literate, like the victims of most online scams, then this goes doubly so.

A grant scam works on the basis of identity theft or compromising your bank account; the emails or phone calls follow a script. You’ll be congratulated on having received a sum of money, and then you’ll be instructed to hand over your bank details in order for the “grant” to be deposited. In fact, you will give over your personal information for use by the scammer so that they can withdraw funds from your account.

How To Avoid A Grant Scam And Other Online Tricks

The most important thing you can do is be vigilant with your personal details. Do not give out your details over the phone and do not email your personal details.

If you are in touch with someone who you believe to be a government agent, then do your due diligence and check that they are who they say they are. Most scammers will use official-sounding names for boards that do not exist, for example, the “Federal Grants Initiative.” Generally, all information regarding grants and governmental agencies can be found on the official government sites for the various agencies.

You can also put yourself on the Do Not Call registry. This will ensure that your number is kept private in many cases, and will thus not be available to scammers who access phone lists in bulk and ring constantly hoping to catch one naïve person.

There isn’t a Do Not Contact registry for emails, but the same applies – do not give it out unless necessary, and even then, makes sure it’s in the right hands. Most legitimate agencies and organizations will have secure online portals for collecting financial information, so never email this information to anyone.

If in doubt, you should always seek advice. Do not blindly accept anything an unknown entity might tell you. Any real government agency will understand your need for security, so make use of that.

Categories
Financial Government Grants

4 Steps for Successful Online Grant Research

4 Steps for Successful Online Grant Research

1.    Create a project outline:

To begin you need a general idea of the project scope.  Build an overall one-page synopsis that is as specific as possible for the project: Who is going to be helped? Main goals and objectives? How? What’s the timeline for implementation? Where? How much will it cost? Are there special populations? Do you have access to matching funds? Who is the applicant? Do you have a history of this or other awards?

All of these questions will allow creativity and guidance, and help you while filtering through your grant research!

2.    Create Key Terms:

From your synopsis pull key search terms: Region, Topic, General Scope, etc.  Be creative and think of anything that may make your project special.  Come up with as many as possible to use, and look at the list a few times before you request outside input.  The terms ultimately dictate your searches; the more you have the more successful you will be.

A good search should turn up 10-15 results in a database with 3-4 viable opportunities at different amounts to ensure a multi-pronged approach for success.

For example: Pennsylvania, Children and Family interventions, at-risk youth, matching funds, education, homelessness, prevention, trauma informed care, public housing, transitional living, collaboration, and partner based.

All-Star Tip: Be sure to have a few keywords with synonyms to try in different mixes and see what comes back.  Going for all search fields at once may over-limit your search.

3.    Choose your likely Funding Source:

Choosing what type of funding entity you’ll need for your project will dictate where to go. Some general examples have been listed here:

  1. Scholarships: Foundations, View Sponsored Listings
  2. Research: Grants.gov
  3. Contracts: Grants.gov, and State websites
  4. General Program Support: Foundations, Grants.gov, Federal/State Department Websites, View Sponsored Listings
  5. Project Specific Development/Pilot programs: Federal/State Websites, Grants.gov, and Foundations
  6. One-time events: Corporate Sponsorships, Donations, and Foundations

All-Star Tip: Be sure you think of your capacity for reporting measures. Federal grants are typically more competitive, require a longer history of success, and may require an outside consultant to write.  Some foundations might give you $1500, but the reporting alone may cost you $1500 of employee time – ensure balance and return on investment exist when conducting grant research!

4.    Track your research:

Many grants are released regularly, and in turn, save your information in a separate document to use later. If you are not sure, reach out to the program staff and ask for insight.

Excel sheets have been a personal favorite, but feel free to use any word processing software as well. Headings should include Agency, Grant Name, Maximum Amounts, Due Dates, Key Words, Ineligibility, Match Requirements, Reporting Measures, Website Links, and Internal Proposed Project.

Microsoft word also does well for a memo on each item, but you likely won’t need those specifics until you to take it to a higher authority. Excel creates an easily searchable list, without feeling overly cluttered, which grant research can tend to be. Just remember to stay organized and it will make your research much easier.

All-Star Tip: Create a google doc or sheet and encourage others to add their research in the same format!

Categories
Financial Savings

Challenge Yourself With a No-Spend Month

Challenge Yourself With a No-Spend Month

Each month we spend money on things that we don’t necessarily need. We buy iced coffee, video games, and other non-essential items. But what if we took a month to eliminate those non-needed purchases?

Have you ever thought about doing the No spend month challenge? During this challenge, you would cut out any extra purchases and only buy the necessities. It is a great way to save money and get caught up.

What Are Necessities 

Necessities are something that you have to have to live. Paying your bills is obviously a necessity. But what other items would be considered a necessities?

Hygiene Products

Hygiene products are considered necessities for your everyday life. They help keep you healthy and free from disease. Examples of hygiene products include:

  • Shampoo & Conditioner
  • Toothpaste and Mouthwash 
  • Soap & Body wash
  • Feminine Products
  • Deodorant & Antiperspirant 

Medical Product Necessities

Medical products are also necessities of your everyday life. These items also help you be healthy and free from disease. These items can be physical or non-tangible. Some examples of medical product necessities include:

  • Therapy Appointments
  • Medicine
  • Bandages 
  • Insulin Pumps
  • Nebulizers 

Utilities

Utilities are things that we pay for that allow us to function. Examples of utilities include:

  • Electricity
  • Water
  • Gas
  • Sewage & Sanitation 

Communication

Communication is needed not only for our mental health but for work purposes and emergencies. Without communication, it would be hard to do some of your activities. Examples of a communication expense include:

  • Cell Phone
  • Internet
  • Home Phone

Food And Beverage

For us to stay alive, we need food and water. You can not survive without these basic necessities. Examples of food and beverage include:

  • Water
  • Herbal Tea
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Meat

Transportation Necessities

We all need to get places to fulfill our duties. We have many things going on in our daily lives and, most cannot be completed from our homes. Just like us having some mode of transport to leave our houses. Examples of transportation expenses include:

  • Car Payment
  • Uber Or Lyft
  • Train Fair
  • Bus Pass
  • Airplane Ticket

What Are Not Considered Necessities

We have many things in our lives that are not considered necessities. We use and spend money on them every day without a second thought. These are the items that you should eliminate for your one-month no-spend challenge. 

Entertainment

While entertainment is fun and can help your day go faster, it is not a necessity. It doesn’t provide you with something that enhances your health, safety, or wellbeing. Examples of entertainment include:

  • Movies
  • Concerts
  • Video Games
  • Sporting Events
  • Comedy Clubs

Non-essential Food Items

While food is a necessity, many foods are non-essential. We should meet our caloric needs for the day with healthy food choices. The following are examples of luxury non-essential food items.

  • Chips
  • Candy
  • Ice Cream
  • Soda
  • Iced Coffee

Conclusion

If you are up for it, try the one-month no spend challenge. Use the money that would have been spent on non-essentials and put it into savings. Allow yourself to see how much you are spending on these items each month. 

Categories
Business Career & Education

Employee Job Satisfaction and User’s Repurchase

Employee Job Satisfaction and User's Repurchase

Customer satisfaction is an integral part of a company’s success, as a satisfied customer returns for multiple purchases. They will usually post about their experience online, tell their friends, or generally want to continue supporting the company. However, customer retention can often hinge on employee job satisfaction. After all, an employee’s overall well-being reflects on the company in various ways. For a company looking to retain its customers, job satisfaction is an important thing they will first consider.

The Perspective of an Expert

Christopher Groening works at the Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business as an assistant marketing professor. He offered his insight on the matter. Then, he explained how a continued emphasis on customer satisfaction leads businesses to offer their employees with unsatisfactory working conditions.

He said that many company owners get tunnel vision, focusing specifically on customer retention and loyalty strategies. These strategies take top precedent, as they are no longer focusing on their employees their working environment. Even if the company works in an industry where its employees will rarely interact with customers, looking after them can still boost customer loyalty and satisfaction.

A good example worth looking at is a company like Activision Blizzard. More specifically, how its fans reacted to its very serious allegations of work place misconduct.

The Activision Blizzard Situation

Activision Blizzard was once one of the most respected and beloved game development studios in the industry. They created multiple classics and fan favorites such as Overwatch, Warcraft, Starcraft, Heroes of the Storm. But in the past two years, the company’s intensely misogynistic work culture reared its head, showing a deeply problematic side of the company. Fans on social media responded by criticizing them, calling the company out for protecting the people responsible for fostering this toxic work environment.

The fan backlash brought about two walkouts staged by the employees, and player numbers for their games dropping by a significant margin. Following all of the news around its misconduct, even major shareholders pulled out of the company. Stock prices for the company fell to the lowest they ever had in its history, and the company would eventually be consolidated to Microsoft.

The Activision Blizzard situation is a good case study of how a company focuses on maximizing customer retention and leaving employees to deal with a very toxic work environment. Loyal players and a high-profile guild in their star MMO left, and people generally do not think kindly of them. Customers do not want employees to be treated poorly at all, regardless of why a company does so.

Smaller Companies Should Be Especially Careful

Understandably, the example mentioned above is by no means a small company. Activision Blizzard brings in billions in revenue every successive year, they are easily one of the biggest companies in the world. However, this is also a major concern for smaller companies, especially where customer and employee interaction is constant.

Customers care deeply about the companies that they support, especially if the firm aligns with their values. And when they find out that a company is not treating their workers with respect or care, they will not be willing to return. And if an employee works as a teller or interacts with the customers regularly, customers will usually tell if the employee is receiving proper treatment.

Improving Customer Retention by Improving Employee Satisfaction

CEOs play an integral role in retaining customers, even if it does not seem like it. Depending on how the CEO interacts with their employees, they could greatly affect employee morale, which could in turn affect customer repurchasing. With that in mind, here are a few ways that owners and CEOs can improve employee satisfaction.

Create a Better Working Environment

One of the most effective ways to improve employee satisfaction is to improve their working environment. If employees have to deal with a toxic manager or an uncooperative employee, their performance will suffer. Squash out any issues regarding misconduct instantly and make sure that your employees feel safe.

Hire Better Managers

It’s not uncommon to have one or two bad apples in a firm who are underperforming. Still, consistently poor performance from employees under a manager could be a sign that they are not a good fit. The manager should act as a mentor to the employees and offer them advice on how to improve.

Empower Employees

Empowering employees and making them feel valued is always an effective way to increase job satisfaction. Giving them the tools necessary for them to make critical decisions or to handle issues without intervention can show them that the company cares. And offering other intangible benefits like shorter workdays and flexible hours can make them feel more satisfied with their job.

Increased Employee Satisfaction Increases Customer Retention

Your customers are an important part of the business, but you shouldn’t focus on them to the point where you let your employees suffer.

Categories
Financial Savings

How To Save Money On Utility Bills This Winter

How To Save Money On Utilities This Winter

Winter is cold for a lot of the United States. Winter is known for its snow and ice and below-freezing temperatures. While it can be a beautiful time of year, it can also become expensive.

Utility bills sometimes skyrocket during the cold months. If you want your home to be at a cozy temperature, your furnace may have to work extra hard, raising your bills to all-time highs.

But what if you are on a budget and cannot afford higher winter utility bills? Continue reading below to find out our top ways to save money on your utility bills this winter.

Insulate Your Home

Having a well-insulated home is crucial to keeping your utility bills low. Insulation will keep warm air inside and the cold air outside. Your furnace won’t work as hard to heat up your home when you have well-insulated walls, doors, and windows.

Open Curtains This Winter

This may sound inaccurate, but it is true. Having open curtains in the winter can allow the sun to shine through. The sun is a natural form of heat and can allow your home to warm up during the day. Be sure to close them at night when the sun goes down.

Keep Your Thermostat Lower

If you want lower utility bills you can try keeping your thermostat a degree or two lower. While it may not be as warm as you would like, it will reduce the amount you are spending.

Replace Furnace Filters This Winter

Replacing your furnace filter regularly, especially at the beginning of winter, will help your furnace work properly. You will know when to replace your filter when it has a layer of dust or dirt covering it.

Add Weatherstrips To Doors And Windows

If you add weatherstrips to your doors and windows it can be a great way to lower your utility bills. Weatherstrips will block and breeze or cold air from coming into your house.

Buy A Smart Thermostat

Buying a smart thermostat can help reduce your utility bills as well. The new technology in these thermostats is more accurate and precise than older thermostats. They will regulate your temperature and allow you to set them from your phone.

Check Your Vents This Winter

Sometimes people forget to check their air vents and don’t realize that they are blocked. A blocked air vent won’t allow the warm air from the furnace to be disbursed into your home. Your furnace will have to work double to accommodate the blocked vent.

Turn Down Your Water Heater

During the winter you may enjoy a hot shower. But having your water heater set too high can also mean a higher utility bill. Adjust your water heater’s temperature a few degrees to help save money.

The Take-Away

Although winter can be a more expensive time of year for utilities, it doesn’t have to be. With some adjustments and quick fixes, you can help alleviate the high bills and still be just as cozy and warm.